Alphabetical One-shot Challenge
by PikaBolt101
Summary: Challenge from Feather That Falls From Crow! For each letter of the alphabet, I'll be doing a one-shot revolving around the chosen word that starts with that letter. 27 in total, including the grand finale!
1. Introduction

**This is a challenge from Feather That Falls From Crow. Every letter of the alphabet (well, excluding X and Z 'cause those two letters lack words) will have a word, and I'll write a 1,500+ word one-shot revolving around each word as the main idea. Of course, it'll be alphabetical and go in order, and no skipping. So hopefully there'll be 28 chapters (including this and the grand finale) when I'm done! :) (It's also for writer's block, by the way.)**

**And it's rated T for possible violence (but just as violent as the actual Warriors) and I don't generally write things that are too cheerful, so… well, I've warned you.**

* * *

**Themes**

Assassination (or Abnormal)  
Belong  
Collide (or Chaos)  
Dark (or Deathtrap)  
Eternity (or Enemy)  
Fragile (or Fire)  
Gift (or Goodbye)  
Homesick (or Horror)  
Illness  
Joking  
Kill  
Last (or Lost)  
Moon  
Night  
Over  
Paradise (or Plant)  
Quick  
Rainfall (or Rat)  
Snake  
True (or Trial)  
Under  
Vicious  
War  
X (free choice)  
Yield  
Z (free choice)  
Grand Finale

* * *

**And I need some kind of poem or story to make this qualify for FFN, or else it's apparently "illegal" here. So here y'all go! :D**

Fire

They said it would burn

Through the forest, burn

To be the savior

Of all the clans, but never

Did she ever expect

It would one day melt

For her

When her world rose up

Into the silver clouds, lying

Beneath the enemy's claws

She vowed she would always

Be up there in the stars

And though fire can die or

Burn faster when it's fueled with lies

It will always slow down

For the one it loves

Forever rising

For that star above

**A FirexSpotted poem! :) Not saying you have to ship it or anything (but personally I like it), I just ran out of ideas. xD**


	2. Chapter 1: Assassination

**Assassination**

It was dusk. The sun had begun to set as it fell beyond the mountains, the last remnants of its blazing light setting the sky on fire, igniting the clouds red and golden. The small shapes of a few silhouetted songbirds flashed by on their swift, beating wings and disappeared into the horizon.

In the dense forests of tall trees that made up ShadowClan's territory, three kits could barely be made out through the thick coat of greenleaf leaves. The breeze grew colder and colder as nighttime approached, but the cool, refreshing wind was still unmistakably relaxing.

They padded, their steps silent as they made their way along the edge of a gently running stream. One of the young cats gazed into the water. The once silvery-blue color had melted away into a fiery pink-and-orange one, as they saw the sky hide beneath the surface of the small, lapping waves. However, as the two larger kits skipped happily in front, admiring the views they never got to see—and were never allowed to see—before, the youngest hung his head low as he brought up the rear, his dark grey pelt fluffed up as he spun around at every noise of the forest, eyes wide and ears pricked.

"A-are you sure we can do this?" the young grey-furred kit mewed, his squeaky voice seeming weaker and smaller than ever as the whole land of trees loomed over him.

"Relax, Stormkit," one of his littermates, a silver-and-white tabby she-kit, glanced back at her younger brother and commented, chuckling, noting his nervous expression. "I'm sure Mother won't get mad."

"Icekit's right," the other, a light grey tabby tom, added confidently. "Besides, we're just taking a walk. Nothing wrong about that, right?"

"But Ashkit, what if—" Stormkit began again, constantly glancing over his shoulder. However, he was interrupted by his sister.

"Look at that!" Icekit's sky blue eyes sparked with curiosity as her two brothers followed her gaze to see a cave, half-hidden in the shadows of the trees. Its opening was narrow and very small. Only a cat or small animal would seem to be able to fit inside. Anything such as a large dog would definitely be stuck outside, helplessly pawing at the entrance.

"It's a cave," Ashkit remarked obviously, flicking his ringed tail thoughtfully. A flame of mischief suddenly burned in his amber eyes. "But I wonder what's inside?"

"Guys, I really think we should leave now," Stormkit warned, backing away, frightened. There was something about that cave that sent shivers slithering down his spine like a snake. Judging from here, it was empty. The small opening was pitch-black and there was nothing but darkness beyond that. But who knows what could be inside?

"No, not yet." Icekit shook her head and bounded forward, nearing the dark entrance of the cave.

"But we aren't allowed to do this!" Stormkit exclaimed, a layer of anger masking his true fear. "We'll get in trouble, or we could even be killed! Mother warned us about the dangers of being off camp grounds before."

"Mother doesn't know everything, Stormkit." Ashkit narrowed his amber eyes. "She can't control what we do." Stormkit lowered his head, his eyes cast at the ground, wanting to run away as the sky grew ever darker, but afraid he'd get lost.

"Besides, look at what I found!" Icekit suddenly spoke excitedly, her voice muffled. The two turned to see a bunch of herbs stuffed in her jaws.

"This is catmint, a herb that can cure sickness. Snowflower taught me about it," the silver-and-white tabby explained when she saw their confused expressions, thinking of the ShadowClan medicine cat. "There are tons of catmint growing right around the entrance of that cave."

"Alright, take them and let's go back to the clan," Ashkit suggested, an idea forming in his mind. "Snowflower and everyone else will thank us so much!"

Icekit nodded and trotted back in the direction of the clan's camp, Stormkit flanking her nervously and Ashkit bringing up the rear.

The dark grey tomkit kept glancing back at the cave's opening, both curiosity and fright mixed together as he slowly walked away. He could almost make out two slitted eyes piercing right into his soul through the inky black darkness, swirling a cold, eerie fog around the trees.

He left that place, and vowed he would never come back…

* * *

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, please gather here for a clan meeting!" the leader's clear voice rang through the clearing as warriors and apprentices gathered underneath the tall boulders, and queens and elders poked their heads out of the dens to see. One she-cat, however, sat proudly right at the front of the crowd. Three young cats eagerly stood at the bottom of the high boulders, awaiting their turn.

Greystar began the ceremony as he saw all the cats were ready, "We are gathered here to celebrate the apprenticeship of three young cats. Ashkit, Icekit, Stormkit."

At their cue, the three littermates bounded up onto the large rocks to stand beside their leader, their eyes reflecting excitement and hints of impatience.

"Crowflight, you are now ready to take on an apprentice," Greystar continued. "You will mentor Icekit, who is now Icepaw. Crowflight, you have shown yourself to be smart and skillful. And now I ask you to pass down all you know to your new apprentice."

Icepaw's silver-and-white pelt flashed in the sunlight as she leaped off to touch noses with the black tom, gazing eagerly up at her new mentor.

"Ashkit," Greystar continued, "you will now be known as Ashpaw. Stormclaw, you've shown power in your fighting and loyalty to the clan. I hope you can teach all you know to this apprentice." The warrior padded forward from the crowd to greet his new apprentice.

"And last but not least, Stormkit, you are now Stormpaw," the ShadowClan leader gazed down at the young dark grey tom. "Swiftriver, you will mentor this apprentice. I hope you can pass down your cleverness and quickness of thinking to Stormpaw and teach him the ways of the clan."

A lithe blue-grey she-cat emerged from the crowd. Stormpaw glanced to his mother and saw her familiar grey pelt and warm, proud yellow orbs. Then he looked up at his new mentor and smiled, touching noses with her as a polite, traditional gesture.

_I'll make you proud, Mother_, Stormpaw silently promised. _I'll make all of you proud of me._

* * *

The sky was dark and grey. Ominous, rain-filled clouds hung heavily from the strings of heaven, too low to be comfortable. Stormpaw could hear the wind moaning and groaning in the distance, as if the sky was crying and the breeze just sung its grief.

The fiery shows of leaf-fall had passed, and leaf-bare charged toward the clans like a storm. As the trees grew as bare as bone and the leaves all dried and died away, Stormpaw noticed for the first time in his life just how unprotected the territory seemed. He had a better view of the sky, of the clouds, of the storm about to unfold. A breeze ruffled his grey fur and an unsettling chill passed through his bones, racking shivers throughout his whole body. The last of the leaves flapped in the wind and came drifting down, landing silently at his paws.

He stood in the center of the clearing, his deep blue eyes reflecting sadness and worry as he scanned the cats around him. His clanmates. Caught in illness.

Some, of course, stayed strong, healthy and unaffected by the coughing, weak cats around them. They continued to fulfill their duties of hunting and daily checking of the borders in case there were other cats trespassing on their grounds. In fact, the hunting schedules were especially packed. Apprentices and warriors alike did everything they could to find even a little bit of food to last them through leaf-bare. Many desperately searched for herbs to cure the whitecough and even greencough—which was beginning to rise amidst the many sick cats—at the commands of their leader and medicine cat. At night, when the stars are clear and shining bright, they'd pray to StarClan and hope everything would turn out alright.

But then again, what could StarClan do now?

Stormpaw paced around anxiously, racking his mind for an answer, until he finally, abruptly, came to one.

_Catmint._

Stormpaw suddenly remembered what Snowflower told him when he was a kit in a sudden jolt. Catmint was an excellent cure for greencough and whitecough, and if he could just get his paws on some right now, he'd be able to heal many cats that were suffering—and even weaker kits and elders that were dying—from the illness right now.

His mother and littermates too.

He knew the scent of catmint. It was strong and unmistakable. He was not affected by the sickness and he needed to help. Not for the sake of praise, but for the sake of lives that were on the line.

_Where can I find catmint? _he wondered to himself, narrowing his eyes as he swept his dark grey tail in thought across the dead earth. Then his eyes widened in a flash and something he thought he'd forgotten suddenly came back to him, flooding his mind.

_The cave…_

He growled, shaking his head to himself but the concerned look in his eyes told something different.

"I vowed I wouldn't go back there," he muttered, irritated at himself. His heart and head fought, and right now it seemed like none would win. "There's something about that cave that's unsettling. Not right." He sighed and remembered a few moons ago. "Mother warned me before…"

_"Look, Mother!" Icekit bounded into the camp as night fell over the sky. She dropped the bundle of catmint she collected earlier onto the ground, just as two tomkits came filing in after her. _

_"It's catmint," Ashkit added, gazing proudly into his mother's amber eyes and waiting for a response. "We found it and Snowflower once said it can cure sickness." Stormkit sat down silently, wrapping his tail around his paws, afraid for a lecture. _

_"You went outside of camp?" exclaimed their mother, her eyes wide with anger and worry, and her ears now flattened against her head. She didn't even seem to notice the catmint at first. "You went out without permission and with no one else with you?"_

_"We don't need someone to look after us at all times!" Ashkit retorted. "We're almost going to be made apprentices, and we should know the territory. Besides, no danger's ever here, anyway."_

_"How would you know that?" their mother sighed and whispered. Stormkit looked up and almost caught… a flash of bitter, pained nostalgia? _

_When the three kits didn't answer for a while and quietness settled around them, she looked at their heads which were hung low and sighed hopelessly. "Alright, I see there's no point in scolding you. Just vow you won't ever go out of camp without permission until you're a warrior." _

_"Yes, Mother," Icekit mumbled reluctantly. Stormkit nodded and Ashkit kept his gaze down. _

Is any cat going to speak about that cave? _Stormkit wondered, shivering as he remembered those lime green eyes staring at him from within the unknown shadows. He shut his eyes and they seemed to be alive again._

_"But how did you find all this catmint?" the older she-cat wondered, staring wide-eyed at her three kits. "We can't seem to find a place that grows catmint through all our searches."_

_"Oh, this?" Icekit gestured at the pile of herbs down at her paws. She gave a grin knowing someone finally asked about it and was ready to share the secret. "We found a small opening to this cave near the stream, and lots of catmint was growing right by the cave's entrance. There was so much I couldn't even take all of it!"_

_Their mother's once warm amber eyes seemed to drain in color. Instead, they filled with a sudden flash of fear. _

_"W-what?" she asked, hesitant and not wanting to believe what her daughter just told her. "A cave? Near the stream?"_

_"Yeah, it's really cool, and who knew so many herbs grew there?" Ashkit flicked an ear, grinning as he remembered the great discovery. _

_"No, no…" the grey-furred queen muttered, crouching down to look straight in their eye. Her gaze turned so hard, so intense, that Stormkit couldn't help but want to shrink back a bit. _

_"That place is not cool," she spat with such force that her kits' eyes grew wide in an instant, not wanting to hear what she had to say next. "Just promise me something. Promise me that you will never go back there again."_

_"But why?" Stormkit shuffled his paws and narrowed his eyes. "Why can't we?"_

_"Don't ask why," she growled. It was one of the only times Stormkit had ever hear her growl with so much force, but he knew something. He knew that her anger wasn't directed at them. "Just promise me, kits."_

_"I-I promise," Ashkit mumbled, still confused. Icekit repeated his words and Stormkit nodded._

_Stormkit stared as her outline gradually disappeared, along with the figures of his siblings, as she made her way to the medicine cat to share the news about the catmint. He couldn't hear what they were saying, and truthfully, neither did he bother to try. All that was on his mind was what his mother had asked for him to promise, and one word wouldn't stop following him like an everlasting shadow._

_Why?_

Now he gazed over at his clanmates, and the promise seemed to slowly vanish.

"I'm sorry, but I'll be going back, Mother," he spoke, determined, to himself. Bounding away into the bare trees and in the direction of that stream again, he knew a little promise from ages ago couldn't compare to the risk of losing the lives of the ones he loves most.

The air suddenly dropped into a freezing cold temperature as he neared the cave. He could make out its entrance, piled with large stones and overgrown with moss, which was beginning to die as well. A gust of chilly wind hit his face and he growled, biting back the urge to run away from the shivers that, he knew, weren't caused by the temperature.

The sky seemed darker than ever. It was almost like night as the storm clouds closed in on the apprentice. He padded closer to the pitch-black opening, growing more wary by the heartbeat. He could see the catmint, a bit shrivelled and dry but useful nonetheless. They were growing right behind the opening of the cave, just a bit beyond the entrance.

_A few steps into that place wouldn't hurt_, Stormpaw encouraged himself, trying to comfort himself and masking the fear he really felt inside. What he thought he saw as a kit all came rushing back to him. _What I believed was foolish. I was just imagining things as a kit._

Each pawstep seemed to feel heavier than the last to him. As he arrived at the entrance, he cautiously lowered himself to be closer to the ground to fit inside, and step by step, found himself standing in front of the herbs at last. The cave could be bigger in the inside than he imagined, or it could be the same. But either way, the young cat had no way of knowing, as the jet-black darkness shifted and closed in.

_I'll get these back to the clan._ Stormpaw began tearing out the catmint with his teeth and grasping them tightly in his jaws. _I'll get these back to my __clanmates, and my family will be saved._

But as he turned to leave as quickly as he could, a horrific, unnatural, slithering voice stopped him right in his tracks. A voice that came from the depths of the darkness that Stormpaw didn't want to see.

"They're already dead… Stormpaw."

Something suddenly lashed out at him and struck him across his body as two slitted, cold lime green eyes opened. He gave a sharp gasp and blood stained the hard ground below. Before everything flashed back to Stormpaw—the discovery, the promise, his mother and siblings and clan, all dying of greencough now—the bright eyes dimly lit something in the depths of the mysterious cave. Something that looked like blood and organs of bodies lying in pools of scarlet, and two frighteningly familiar amber eyes gave one last, lifeless stare at him.

_No… Please, no…_

The glint of blood-stained silver claws and fangs charged at him, and a chilling ghost of a smile curled upward on the demon's lips. Stormpaw saw those soft amber eyes close before he could take in another breath, and shift into narrowed orbs of lime green.

Then his eyes closed as well.

* * *

**The theme is Assassination but it does have Illness in it too, I guess. However, for the Illness theme I have something completely different, so yeah… Review if you can! :) But even if you didn't like it I still wanna finish the whole challenge, so 25 more letters to go! XD**

**Word count: 2,952 words**


	3. Chapter 2: Belong

**Belong**

I've never belonged here.

Never belonged in this family, in this clan, in this _world_.

You might ask: who am I? Well, I am the one who whispers with the greenleaf trees in an evening breeze. I am the one who hears the last note of that silent song of the meadow larks. I am the one who gazes at the stars just like everyone else, admiring the beauty of the night. I am the one right beside you.

But you wouldn't be able to see that, right?

Cats who admire the sun never get to feel the rain. Cats who are fond of the light never see the beauty of the night. I'm one to join them. Overshadowed, passed by, not noticed…

_Not here._

You look in my direction, but your gaze passes right through me. Like I'm a mist that swirls around you, but you only stare at the destination ahead and forget I'm even here.

At times I want to run away. Run away to be with the sky. But what if even the stars forget I'm here? Forget I'm here and flicker out?

It was dark. It was cold. It was leaving. And I was alone. I thought I'd be hiding in the shadows forever. Words would be thrown at me, but they either shrank away before coming to my awareness or passed through like I'm invisible.

_I'm invisible…_

I thought it would be like that forever. I thought it would never change.

That was when I met you.

* * *

They were at moonhigh, they were at twilight, they were at the end of dusk. They were when no other cat dared to follow except us.

_Us…_

Oh, how I've longed for that word.

Every night was a risk. Every night that I'd feel the moonshine washing into the den, I'd immediately wake up. I needed to be quiet, careful, silent, unnoticed.

It wasn't the hardest for me.

Every moment that I was outside of the tiny area that I was forced to call home, waiting for you to emerge through the shadows of the trees, my heart rate increased. I'd be impatient, I'd be anxious, but I'd feel, for the first time in my life, _alive_.

Every heartbeat outside was a risked reward. I wanted to feel the swaying trees, feel the birdsong, the cool night air…

Feel _you_ beside me.

I loved the way we'd stroll quietly beside the gentle stream under the full moon, watching the mirror-like surface reflect the sky above. I loved the way you'd whisper in my ear, just like the smallest newleaf breeze, but it was there. I loved the way silence could mean more than anything at times. And I loved the way you knew everything about me.

Your steps matched with mine, your pace was never too fast nor too slow. As I leaned against your soft fur under the starry night, our sighs harmonized. I could feel you smiling against my cheek and your tail automatically entwining with mine. For once, I was there. You knew I was there. You felt me beside you, and you acknowledged that.

It wasn't perfect.

Sometimes we would trip, but we'd always catch each other if we fell. We'd lose track, but always find one another in the end. The awkward but comfortable way you'd rub your cheek along my jaw, the hesitant but loving way you'd just brush my flank as we walked, it all seemed to whisper three words into my ear:

"I'm not perfect."

But the way we'd look up at the silver moon together and imagine we're the stars, swimming in the dark black-purple night and you'd look in my eyes, like everything and time was all ours. It was miracle. The way you made me feel like I _needed_ to live, to see tomorrow, every single day was one in a million. But those warm, faint smiles you would cast in my direction—at _me_—was once in a lifetime.

The way I'd simply smile back at you seemed to say:

"You don't have to be perfect for me."

And it was worth it. For once in my life, I _belonged_.

* * *

Leaf-bare was when it all shattered in a single heartbeat.

We could all sense it. The air was hostile and the slitted glances that the other clans cast at us wasn't welcoming. Gatherings were dreaded by everyone. Dark, heavy would hide the once bright moon as if the stars were also ashamed to see us.

I prayed for a chance to see you. I would stretch my neck and strain to see you, those familiar amber eyes and that same golden-brown pelt, but it was only lost in a sea of a thousand more.

Times were changing. Deaths were more and more common and the clan was lost in numbers. Whitecough shifted into greencough, which even advanced to blackcough. The ones who couldn't defend themselves, the ones who were too weak and suffered, were put out of their misery by joining the stars. The rest tried to stay strong and not cave in to the icy glares from the other clans, the few little scraps of food that still existed, and the chilling storms that headed their way.

I was one of them.

I thought back to the greenleaf and newleaf nights when we strolled under the sky and the warm breeze lifted us into the heavens. Those leaf-fall days when the blazing leaves swirled in a fiery show through the air, and I finally saw the world in color. It was beautiful.

I wish I could feel like that again.

When the tension between ShadowClan and RiverClan started rising to a maximum, the harshest insults and threats were thrown to one another over the frosted borders. Icy claws and fangs gripped like venom in the air and without thinking, they lashed out.

I was forced to defend my clan and extinguish the others. For the first time that they needed me, I was forced to do _this_.

Forced to kill the ones that threatened to kill us.

That was you.

But I knew you'd never try to hurt me. You would never be one of them… right?

I wanted to talk to you. We could run away, we could both die and be together in StarClan again. We could be in the stars like we used to dream about as young, foolish apprentices.

But that was the biggest mistake I had ever made.

"We can't do this. Not anymore."

It was the last time true words were ever spoken to me. I couldn't believe it. Neither could you. But was the weight of being an outcast, being alone and being separated from everything and everyone you've ever known too much for you?

Was being with me just too much for you?

"Go back. Go where you truly belong," you had said. I wanted to yell, I wanted to back away, but I was frozen and time had stopped around us. But your voice was steady and I struggled to hold back the tears that were threatening to stain my cheeks.

"Go back to your clan and to the cats who really need you."

I wanted to retort, I wanted to shout back and tell you that you were wrong.

_I never belonged there, don't you see? Don't you see that I've never belonged anywhere but right here, beside you? _

But you walked away, and those words that never actually separated from my lips were just lost as another puff of warm air condensed and collided with the cold. You walked away and your silver-outlined silhouette was the last thing I saw before I fell, lost in a world of darkness, anger and loneliness.

Regret…

_"Promise me you'll never leave me?" _

Your tail somehow just found mine like it was an instinct back then. An instinct that took a moment to reveal itself, seasons to master, and a heartbeat to vanish into thin air.

Your eyes were so sincere. Those warm, amber eyes that looked at me like I was the only thing that existed, that mattered, at that moment. Those same amber eyes that broke me soon after.

_"I promise."_

But I never got to tell you…

_I promise… I promise…_

"I belong with you."

* * *

**Review if you want! :D Actually, please do review. XD Ok, not the best but I rushed it, haha. Next chapter will be the theme Chaos or Collide (I've already chosen but those are the two choices). And yes, I know I probably changed tenses a ton of times throughout the story, but I kinda meant to… or I just wanted more depth (?) or something. -fail- **

**Heh… - -" I have a vague idea for letter C but right now it's kind of a trainwreck in my head so I gotta smooth it out and stuff. **

**'Til next time. :)**


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